Customer Reviews

Stix

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The brilliance of Jaga Jazzist's first album, "A Living Room Hush", lay in its inspired marriage of new wave "electronica" and traditional jazz chord sequences. The end result - a combination of odd, often tense back-beats, familiarly languid jazz phrasing and distinctive melodies - was certainly daring but, more importantly totally controlled, allowing the best of this ingenious fusion to shine through. Arguably one of the most innovative "jazz" albums of the last 10 years and... a very difficult act to follow.

Faced with this task, their second album sees them grappling with the same problems that beset a previous generation of pioneering "jazz fusion" artists, in particular The Mahavishnu Orchestra - how to extend further into difficult and potentially disparate musical styles without losing the plot. Their solution, to concentrate more on fast "industrial techno" & "jungle" rhythms and harsher instrumentation at the expense of the laid-back, "pure jazz" melodies that underpinned "A Living Room Hush", is certainly brave and, in the end, highly effective, but the outcome is much more "frantic" and challenging.

So, for those seeking a comfortable continuation to their previous release, "The Stix" will be a disappointment; but for those interested in seeing how far the fusions they are clearly dedicated to exploring can be pushed, it's a triumph - dense, multi layered electronica combined with equally complex "avant garde" jazz in a thrilling roller coaster ride of musical exploration that runs, at times, dangerously close to the edge of how far it can be taken without degenerating into "the brilliantly unlistenable". Sun Ra and John McLaughlin would be proud.

As Jaga Jazzist continue their mission of deconstructing the world of electronic music through their melding of jazz, rock, and the ether in between, their 2nd full-length demonstrates further honing of their musical craft. The lead single, "Day",
provides uptempo dnb satiation, a venture into panoramic expansiveness made clear by its synth lines. The horn arrangements on this album are also one its standout qualities, revealing that these are musicians who are not only capable, but who have a clear understanding of the jazz sensibilities they tap into. Studio trickery also abounds, and this record is an exercise through the latest innovations, making use of a full range of production capabilities. The record stands as a cohesive grouping of songs that have a certain seamlessness to them; what they have achieved with this record is what most musicians should hope to aspire to - an album defying convention that pins down a watermark in their respective realm.

Ninja Tune is often criticized for its wide range of similar sounding artists. The Stix is less like the bossa nova rumber of Amon Tobin or Coldcut and more like the electric jazz stylings of Tortoise. Like Radiohead's 'OK Computer', there is a blend of electric and acoustic elements that adds up to more than just your typical electronica disc. Yes, there are beauitiful soundscapes and scat-funk beats, but there's also some good songwriting. I almost didn't pick up this disc, but now I'm glad I did.

Strange, intoxicating whirlpool of unnerving electronica welded to the gentle illusion of acoustica! Occasionally this uncanny swaying, shifting musical creature emerges into a January morning of crisp melodic writing with a fried breakfast of rhythmic toast and lush harmonic marmalade. Mostly, however, it slips away into the brightness of a moonlit winter night full of glistening and shimmering sounds and reflections.

Inspiring stuff!!

If that didn't make sense to you then go and listen yourself.

The Stix is, overall a superior album the A Livingroom Hush, which sometimes struggled for cohesion amid its kaliedoscopic sound and genre bending. The same overall timbre applies to this next offering from Jaga Jazzist, but with fuller, more poignant tunes and a better weighting of the electric, band and rock elements. In short, more accessable and all the better for it. Buy it if you think Norway is dull.

Jaga Jazzist, with their second album THE STIX, continue their weirdo jazz takeover of the world. While it shares the same instrumentation as the first album (including those wonderful horns, they continue exploring a range of emotions. "Kitty Wu," for example meanders in a dreamy soundscape. "Another Day" goes kind of crazy with the electric guitar, but it works. "Reminders" has with a horn section that sticks to your ribs like cholesterol; the rhythm helps get you moving to clear up the congestion. Another amazing album. Jazz keeps getting better and better.

Not strictly a Jazz Musician, this Norwegian takes the back bone of Jazz music and incorporates slight traces of Electronica (and samples) to an undisruptive consistency, So whilst it flows and shift musical dynamics like traditional Jazz, it also has radical moments of expansive eclecticism and a delightfully obscurest approach. Almost as if looking to shift the goalposts of Jazz music somewhat, without completely distancing itself from it. Probably looking to appeal to both fans of more instrumental based Electronica, and hopefully capturing listeners from the Jazz genre, this aptly demonstrates how subtle use of samples and electronic equipment can be thoughtful used to carefully & Subtly enhance the music, without ever threaten to engulf it. Fans of "The Cinematic Orchestra" will probably find a great deal to enjoy here, as a it (relatively) ingenious take on the genre, obviously Jazz `Purists' will sneer at the concept, but then that's their loss.

This is a review about the sound quality only, not the music.

I really should not buy several disks at one time from a band that I have not heard before. I bought a couple of Jaga disks on the strength of Kaleidoscopic by Lars Hornveth who is in Jaga. Not only was the music on Kaleidoscopic fantastic, but the sound quality was great too. However with the two Jaga disks I got, the sound quality is painful. They are both 'loudness war' disks (google the term if you don't know what it is). Massive amounts of dynamic range compression, lots of clipping, and tonnes of distortion are the hallmarks of this disk. It's too bad because I think I might of enjoyed the music if it hadn't been crushed in an attempt to get maximum volume. I wish they would have some belief in their music and not think they have to wreck it just so it can be heard, cause you know what? WE ALREADY BOUGHT YOUR CD! You don't have to make the cd painful to listen to so it sounds louder. Moreover, ipods etc have replaygain/volumecheck type stuff, so everything is the same volume anyway.

I get tired of buying music only to find out it has been damaged during mastering. Bleech.